Bundesliga nicknames: meaning & abbreviations explained

The German Bundesliga teams names are quite different compared with the likes of La Liga, Premier League and Ligue 1.

Some German Bundesliga teammates have a very lengthy name which had resulted in the use of short acronym or abbreviations for easier understanding.

Read: Bundesliga 3-letter abbreviations listed 

Despite the unique names of some of the teams in the Bundesliga, they still hold a large number of followers worldwide.

Teams like Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Kaiserslautern, Köln have followers from around the world.

Teams in Germany have names which includes some abbreviations like 04, 1. FC, SC, Sppvg, eV, VfL, VfB, etc.

Cool facts

What is the meaning of Bundesliga? The Bundesliga means “Federal League”. It can also be described as the “German League”.

Why does the Bundesliga have 18 teams? This was adopted to reduce the number of fixtures as well as continue with the winter break tradition.

Which team has won the most Bundesliga titles? Bayern Munich’s won more titles. The chase won over 31 league titles.

Bundesliga nicknames meaning,  abbreviations  explained

GmbH – Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung: it means a company with limited liability”.

04 – 04 or 1904 is used to represent the year of establishment of a club in short form.

Fußball – Fußball means Football or Soccer in English.

SC – Sport club

 1. FC – Meaning the first club that was founded in the city.

e.V. – eingetragener Verein – meaning registered association” or “incorporated association.

VfL – Verein für Leibesübungen – meaning physical exercise or association for physical exercises.

VfB – Club for movement games

Borussia – Borussia club for ball games. Borussia” is the Latin word for Preußen (a former steadily extending German kingdom).

BVB – means Ballspiel-Verein Borussia (Borussia club for ball games).

Prussia – Prussia is a historical region of Germany.

SpVgg – meaning game association in English.

All Bundesliga nicknames and their meaning

1. Arminia Bielefeld

Club Name: DSC Arminia Bielefeld

Meaning: DSC meaning Deutscher Sportclub Arminia Bielefeld

Nickname: Die Arminen, Die Blauen (The Blues).

Armenia Bielefeld played most of its years in the Bundesliga 2 and currently ranked among the record winners of the Bundesliga 2  with four titles.

Arminia Bielefeld is based in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia.

2. FC Augsburg

Club Name: Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907

Meaning: Football Club Augsburg

Nickname: Fuggerstädter (the club was named after the Fugger family of Augsburg).

Augsburg is the largest football club in Swabian Bavaria. The club began in the lower divisions and have played most seasons in the second and third divisions.

Augsburg, since making its way to the top flight have remained consistent preserving its top constantly preserved its sop flight status.

3. Bayer Leverkusen

Club Name: Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH

Meaning: Bayer 1904 Leverkusen Football GmbH (a company with limited liability).

Nickname: Die Werkself (The Company’s Eleven)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen is one of the few privately owned soccer teams in the Bundesliga.

The club is owned by Bayer AG, a German pharmaceutical and life sciences company currently one of the largest pharmaceuticals company in the world.

4. Bayern Munich

Club Name: Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V.

Meaning: Football Club Bayern Munich. München is a German city which can also be called Munich.

Nickname: Der FCB (The FCB),

Die Bayern (The Bavarians)

Stern des Südens (Star of the South), Die Roten (The Reds) and FC Hollywood

Bayern Munich is the best and most successful team in history. The club is based in Munich, Bavaria.

Bayern have won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, etc.

5. VfL Bochum

Club Name: Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 football community

Meaning: Association for physical exercises Bochum 1848 Football Community e. V.

Nickname: The insurmountable.

Bochum is regarded as one of the oldest teams in Germany.

However, the club is not among the German elite but have witnessed significant growth over the years.

The club is based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia.

6. Borussia Dortmund

Club Name: Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V.

Meaning: Borussia club for ball games. Borussia” is the Latin word for Preußen (a former steadily extending German kingdom).

Nickname: Die Borussen

Die Schwarzgelben (The Black and Yellows).

BVB means Ballspiel-Verein Borussia (Borussia club for ball games).

Borussia Dortmund is one of the biggest football clubs in Germany. The club is based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia.

7. Borussia Mönchengladbach

Club Name: Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach,

Meaning: Borussia physical exercise 1900 registered association Mönchengladbach.

Nickname: Die Fohlen (The Colts) Die Borussen (The Prussians).

Borussia Mönchengladbach emerged to be one of Germany’s strongest football clubs in historically.

8. Eintracht Frankfurt

Club Name: Eintracht Frankfurt e.V

Meaning: Eintracht Frankfurt registered association.

Nickname: SGE (Sportgemeinde Eintracht), sports community Eintracht in English.

9. SC Freiburg

Club Name: Sport-Club Freiburg e.V

Meaning: Sport-Club Freiburg registered association.

Nickname: Breisgau-Brasilianer (Breisgau Brazilians)

10. Greuther Fürth

Club Name: Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth e. V.

Meaning: Game Association Greuther Fürth.

Nickname: Kleeblätter (Cloverleaves).

11. Hertha BSC

Club Name: Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V

Meaning: Hertha BSC Berlin or Hertha Berlin Sports Club registered association.

Nickname: Die Alte Dame (The Old Lady).

12. 1899 Hoffenheim

Club Name: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V.)

Meaning: Gymnastics and Sports community 1899 Hoffenheim registered association.

Nickname: Die Kraichgauer (From the Kraichgau region).

Hoffenheim is a soccer club based in Hoffenheim village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg.

13. FC Köln

Club Name: 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. or FC Cologne

Meaning: 1. Football Club Köln 1948 or FC Cologne.

Nickname: Die Geißböcke (The Billy Goats).

14. RB Leipzig

Club Name: RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. or Red Bull Leipzig.

Meaning: Lawn Ball Sports Leipzig registered association.

Nickname: Die Roten Bullen (The Red Bulls).

All Red Bull soccer teams listed

15. Mainz 05

Club Name: 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V.

Meaning: First Football and Sports Association Mainz 1905.

16. VfB Stuttgart

Club Name: Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V

Meaning: Club for movement games Stuttgart 1893 registered association.

Nickname: Die Roten (The Reds), Die Schwaben (The Swabians).

17. Union Berlin

Club Name: 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V

Meaning: First Football Club Union Berlin registered association.

Nickname: Die Eisernen (The Iron Ones).

18. Wolfsburg

Club Name: Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V.

Meaning: Association for physical exercises Wolfsburg registered association.

Hope you’ve acquainted yourself nicknames, meaning abbreviations for all Bundesliga teams.